This type of hand ornament, called a hathphul (hand flower), is an ancient form of jeweled ornament in India, dating back to the seventh or eighth century BC. In this piece, two finger rings are linked to a bracelet by decorative chains. Flowers and animals composed of rubies, emeralds, and jargons (white sapphires) form the primary decorative scheme of the work.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Hand Ornament with Finger Loops and Bracelet (Hathphul)
Date:18th–19th century
Geography:Attributed to Northern India
Medium:Gold; inset with rubies, emeralds and colorless sapphires
Dimensions:L. 6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm)
Classification:Jewelry
Credit Line:Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941
Accession Number:41.100.116
Gold Hand Ornament
Design, settings, and chains relate this piece to MMA nos. 15.95.77, 19.111.1, and 15.95.55. Although in design and technique this hand ornament is characteristically Indian, the form of hand ornament, consisting of a series of finger rings attached to chains around the wrist, dates to the eighth or seventh century B.C.[1]
Despite an almost overly ornate opulence, great sophistication of design in the best Indian tradition is achieved here in the wedding of the stylized floral and animal motifs with motifs that are purely geometric.
[Jenkins and Keene 1983]
Footnotes:
1. Maxwell-Hyslop, K. R. Western Asiatic Jewellery. London, 1971, pl. 181; Sept mille ans d'art en Iran, exhibition catalogue. Petit Palais, Paris, 1961–62, no. 508, pl. XLIV; 7000 Jahre Kunst in Iran, exhibition catalogue. Villa Hugel, Essen, 1962, no. 221.
Hand Ornament
The design, settings, and chains relate this piece to MMA 15.95.77 and 41.100.117 (nos. 136 and 139 in this catalogue). Although its design and much of its technique are characteristically Indian, the overall form of a hand ornament consisting of a series of finger rings attached to chains around the wrist goes back to the seventh to eighth century B.C. in Iran and seems to have continued, to judge from a representation of Shapur II (A.D. 310–79) on a magnificant silver plate in the Idemitsu Art Gallery in Tokyo, showing what appears to be such an ornament.
Great sophistication of design, despite almost barbaric opulence in the finest Indian tradition, is achieved here in the perfect wedding of the geometricized floral and animal, as well as purely geometric, motifs
Manuel Keene in [Berlin 1981]
George and Florence Blumenthal, New York (until 1941; gifted to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Islamic Jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 22–August 14, 1983, no. 65.
Untracht, Oppi. India: A Jewelry Spectrum. New York: Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture, 1998. no. 375, p. 62.
"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 137, pp. 318–19, ill. p. 319 (b/w).
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn, and Manuel Keene. Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1983. no. 65, p. 122, ill. (b/w).
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